Aleith|DM: The uneven, wooded terrain of a forest materializes around all of you. Nausea grips you as you recover from teleporting out of Methia, and at first all you can tell of your surroundings is that a battle has been fought here: brush is trampled, branches hacked apart, arcane scorch marks blacken the leaves overhead. As you get your bearings, pipes and fiddles begin to play a jaunty but unmistakably militant tune.
Aleith|DM: Through the woods to the west you spy figures cavorting your way. Then from the east, guttural wooping and the beating of wooden drums marks the approach of a second force.
Aleith|DM: A pixie swoops past you—angular purple legs wrapped in streaming viridian ribbons, with furred moth-like wings and a crescent moon mouth full of fangs beneath a single red eye—and it shouts to the eastern drummers, "Here they are! Attack!"Zane‘ falls to his knees and then unsteadily raises back up. "Oh… Hell."
Garrett: "Would you believe we fell asleep in a circle of mushrooms and are just lost schoolchildren?"
Aleith|DM: Battle cries ululate from both directions, and audible twangs mark incoming arrows.Aleith|DM rolled 6#d20+15(1) and got 17 ( Total: 32.0 ) for vs RefAlso rolled 6#d20+15(2) and got 8 [Total: 23.0 (Low), Avg: 8.00]
Garrett: "(Damn, that one never works.)"Also rolled 6#d20+15(3) and got 9 [Total: 24.0 (Low), Avg: 9.00]Also rolled 6#d20+15(4) and got 5 [Total: 20.0 (Low), Avg: 5.00]Also rolled 6#d20+15(5) and got 13 [Total: 28.0 (High), Avg: 13.00]Ernst scratches his head. "So…"Also rolled 6#d20+15(6) and got 10 [Total: 25.0 (Low), Avg: 10.00]Total: 152.0, Avg: 10.33Aleith|DM rolled 6#d20+15(1) and got 12 ( Total: 27.0 ) for vs RefAlso rolled 6#d20+15(2) and got 15 [Total: 30.0 (High), Avg: 15.00]Also rolled 6#d20+15(3) and got 15 [Total: 30.0 (High), Avg: 15.00]Also rolled 6#d20+15(4) and got 7 [Total: 22.0 (Low), Avg: 7.00]Also rolled 6#d20+15(5) and got 4 [Total: 19.0 (Low), Avg: 4.00]Also rolled 6#d20+15(6) and got 6 [Total: 21.0 (Low), Avg: 6.00]Total: 149.0, Avg: 9.83
Aleith|DM: A flurry of arrows fly in from the west. Chandrasekhar takes 10 damage and is weakened (SE), while everyone else takes 3 damage!
Aleith|DM: From the east, massive bolts fall on the party, dealing 6 damage to everyone!Zane` whirls and slashes through the arrow that would have hit his good friend. [Bullet Slice]
Aleith|DM: Area Burst 5 :(
[OOC] Zane: fuck you its arrows, he can eat the miss damage but I dont want him weakened! :p
[OOC] Aleith|DM: okay fine
Aleith|DM: A red-haired man waves and shouts to you about a hundred feet away from the south. "I can hide you folks!"
Garrett: "Well, you’re the only one who hasn't shot at us yet-!"
Gerald: "Alright lets count that as a warning shot. You knock that shit off RIGHT THE FUCK NOW or I'm going to show you what a REAL godsdamn ranged volley looks like -!"
Zane: "Sounds like a deal to me!"Garrett‘ glides over the underbrush towards the man!Gerald` grumbles, following after Garrett.
Aleith|DM: As you start running up to him, more arrows rain down around you, and you hear some siege machines firing. You hear screaming above you as several severed heads land amongst you, fuses coming out of their necks.
Aleith|DM: They lock eyes with the nearest person, then explode with deafening purple fire.Aleith|DM rolled 6#d20+18(1) and got 17 ( Total: 35.0 ) for vs RefAlso rolled 6#d20+18(2) and got 6 [Total: 24.0 (Low), Avg: 6.00]Also rolled 6#d20+18(3) and got 8 [Total: 26.0 (Low), Avg: 8.00]Also rolled 6#d20+18(4) and got 20 [Total: 38.0 (High), Avg: 20.00]Also rolled 6#d20+18(5) and got 7 [Total: 25.0 (Low), Avg: 7.00]Also rolled 6#d20+18(6) and got 6 [Total: 24.0 (Low), Avg: 6.00]Total: 172.0, Avg: 10.67
Zane: "Singh your people are getting off on the wrong foot with me…"Gerald` throws his hands in the air, before hefting his rifle over his shoulder and rifing into the ranks of distant pixies whilst they retreat.
Aleith|DM: Most of you escape the worst of the flames, taking only 5 fire damage, but Chanrasekhar and Gerald each stumble, taking 15 fire damage, 5 thunder damage, and are dazed and deafened (save ends both).
[OOC] Gerald: how the fuck did a 26 hit me
[OOC] Aleith|DM: crit
[OOC] Aleith|DM: Chandra got the first one alphabetically
Aleith|DM: But then you catch up to the red-haired man (his feet are backwards, you notice) and he casts an group invisibility spell on the lot of you, hiding you from sight.
Garrett: "Okay… okay! So our extraplanar teleportation was a little off."
Garrett: "Thanks for the shroud, mister…?"
Fey: "Let’s keep going south, we can get out that way."
Phyllis: "Thank you, friend."Zane‘ still has Andrei slung over one shoulder, and is probably supporting Singh with the other. "What the hell did we land in the middle of?"
Rambylon: "I’m Rambylon. Stay close or you'll get out of the range of the effect."
Garrett: "Right-o." He goes to support Gerald while they start to move.
Rambylon: "I'm not fighting with either side-I was just trying to get a good view of the fight." The somewhat-bloody and mud-caked bits of jewelry bulging from his pockets suggest a slightly different motive.
Garrett: "My name's Paul and that's between y'all."
Garrett: "…well no actually it might be very relevant, considering, but."
Rambylon: "There's an overlook in this direction that's safe to watch from. If you want to thank me afterwards, I accept human coins, halfling cakes, and half-elf kisses."
Zane: "Do they have to be made from real halflings?"
Zane: "The cakes, I mean."
Aleith|DM: He shrugs. "As long as the recipe's good." He leads you in a south-southeasterly direction.
Aleith|DM: Over the few minutes that takes, you see a few units rushing to and fro—mounted elves and brachiating trolls and leaping dryads, a four-legged flower blossom the size of an elephant being led by a rattlesnake with a woman's head, small treants trying to shake off squads of ettercaps clambering through their branches, a concert of grigs wearing noseplugs as they ride atop a catoblepas, and so on.
Aleith|DM: Amid the jumble and roar of distant battle, occasionally you hears a persistent sound: piping horns and baying hounds accompanied with cheers. The sound sweeps from side to side in the distance, clearly produced by something moving at speed.Phyllis floats along behind Rambylon.
Phyllis: "We've stumbled into the Dreaming, haven't we?"
Phyllis: "… do you know what year it is? I hope we've only crossed planes, not time."Chandrasekhar perks his ears up.
Chandrasekhar: "Yes, we certainly are." He's walking on his own now; the teleportation going sideways seems to have messed him up pretty good. "(Thank you, Mr. Bieito.)"
Zane: "(S'what friends are for, Mr. Singh.)"
Rambylon: "It's Winter 37th. Uh, the year… Hmmm. I think you guys call it 501 something-or-other?"
Gerald: "Gunna burn this forest to the ground."
Aleith|DM: It's sometime around noon. You seem to have lost about half a day.
Phyllis: "After or before 'our' victory."
Garrett: "At least wait until we're out of it."
Gerald: "S'why I'm not in the process as we speak yeah."
Aleith|DM: You pass through a large grassy area, another section of forest, through another grassy area, and just as you cross into another forest, you hear cheers quickly moving your way.
Zane: "Gerald, lets not go lighting the Dreaming on fire until we know what we're doing."
Chandrasekhar: "I would prefer if you did not. I keep some of my stuff here. Also, I promise you wouldn't like the enemies youd' make."
Zane: "What is all this fighting, Rambylon?"
Gerald: "They started it."
Chandrasekhar: "Even so."
Aleith|DM: The pixie from when you first arrived sweeps down from teh sky, her one red eye locked on you. She conjures faerie fire around you, limning all of you in harmless purple and green flames that reveal your presence, and then she blows a whistle.Rambylon goes pale. "Run for your lives!"
Aleith|DM: From the nearest thicket edge, about four hundred feet away, a fox the size of a tiger bursts into view. The gremlin strapped into its saddle waves to the pixie, weaves past the confused redcaps in the plain behind you, then makes a beeline for the party.
Aleith|DM: On the fox’s heels, three equally huge black hounds leap out of the woods, barking and howling, and then shortly behind them gallop a dozen steeds, each ridden by a mighty warrior clad in gleaming mithral plate armor.
Aleith|DM: One in the lead blares his horn, and the whole procession tramples the redcaps into pulp. The largest of the riders, with silver antlers spreading from his helm and what is unmistakeably a bullet hole in the plate over his right breast, picks up a mangled corpse on the tip of his lance and shouts so loudly that his voice carrying all the way to the party: "Ha ha! None shall stand 'tween me and my prey!" Then he flings the dead redcap away and bears down on the fox.
Gerald: "See!"
Gerald: "They WANT me to kill them all, Chandra!"
Garrett: "I'm runnin', not standin'! See ya, shiny boys!"
Aleith|DM: Battle Order: | 33:Phyllis | 33:Fey Dire Fox | 31:Chandrasekhar | 27:Gerald | 22:Ernst | 21:Zane | 19:Garrett | 15:Great Huntsmen |
Aleith|DM: Phyllis!Gerald‘ didn’t use [Word of Warning] earlier so it's getting used now. Fuck the fey.Garrett‘ rolled 1d20 and got 9 ( Total: 9 )
Chandrasekhar: "Oh, I didn’t say anything about not -fighting- them. Sometimes you have to prove that you're the strongest."
Rambylon: "Keep running!"
Ernst: "So if we kill things do we change the future or did it already account for us being here? I didn't study time travel too much."
Phyllis: "I think we're in present day, Ernst."
Aleith|DM: Battle Order: | 38:Phyllis | 36:Chandrasekhar | 33:Fey Dire Fox | 32:Gerald | 30:Garrett | 27:Ernst | 26:Zane | 15:Great Huntsmen |
Chandrasekhar: "Sometimes, on the other hand, you just have to prove that you're the -fastest-."
Aleith|DM: Rambylon puts words to action and double-runs 16 spaces southward
Gerald: "Run? It's going to be WAY easier killing this glory hound asshole than it is outrun their mounts."Phyllis places an [Arcane Gate] in front of the rest of the crew, moves, and taps into her [Dwarven Resilience].
Aleith|DM: Chandrasekhar!
Aleith|DM: Rambylon then kind of boggles as Phyllis appears in front of him from a warp in the air.
Garrett: "We're in the Dreaming, you gotta lighten up a little. The fey feed on seriousness."
Rambylon: "If we can get past the border to the south, they'll turn around! If they leave the border they quit the battle!"
Gerald: "I assure you, shooting that motherfucker will both cheer and lightening me up a great deal."Chandrasekhar flies through the Arcane Gate!
Chandrasekhar: "At least get some range on them first!"Phyllis gives Rambylon a brief, cheeky wave.
Aleith|DM: The fey dire fox rockets ahead at full tilt, bounding across half of the grassy square as it runs towards you!
Aleith|DM: Gerald! Ernst! Zane! Garrett!
Gerald: "Ernst you got any more buffs left?"Zane‘ moves down through the arcane gate with Andrei, and then takes a [Full Defense], watching the incoming riders. [+3 Martial Dice, 8 total]
Ernst: "Lightning Sigil."Gerald` delays until after Ernst. "Hit me up, want to take as few shots as needed."Garrett` picks up the speed and surfs over the ground, does a not-quite-airkick off of a trunk, and zooms through the Arcane Gate! [Double Run]Garrett` continues to run on the other side!Ernst casts Lightning Sigil on Gerald and then continues running.
[OOC] Aleith|DM: +9 lightning damage
[OOC] Aleith|DM: Can expend it to daze an enemy you hit
[OOC] Gerald: he’s in carbine range too so magic weapon, lemme roll it
[OOC] Aleith|DM: okay fine, single movedGerald‘ rolled d20+26 and got 15 ( Total: 41 ) for ernst shot
Aleith|DM: Hit!Gerald` rolled d8+15 and got 8 ( Total: 23 ) for -1 AC nowGerald` then marks the fey rider as his [Quarry] before letting off a [Twin Strike] as well, then falls back, too.
[OOC] Aleith|DM: 23!Gerald` rolled 2#d20+30(1) and got 16 ( Total: 46 ) for so miss on a 1…Also rolled 2#d20+30(2) and got 1 [Total: 31]
[OOC] Sugarlips: Grand Total: 77
Aleith|DM: 1 hit!Gerald` rolled d10+20 and got 10 ( Total: 30 )Also rolled 2d8+6 and got 7, 8 [Total: 21]
[OOC] Sugarlips: Grand Total: 51
[OOC] Aleith|DM: 51!] The dire fox yelp as the gremlin yells, and they start peeling away from your group over to the west…
[OOC] Gerald: oop 4 more magic wweapon boosts damage too
[OOC] Aleith|DM: Bloodied!
Aleith|DM: The Great Huntsmen advance on the fox…
Aleith|DM: Battle Order: | 38:Phyllis | 36:Chandrasekhar | 33:Fey Dire Fox | 32:Gerald | 30:Garrett | 27:Ernst | 26:Zane | 15:Great Huntsmen |
Aleith|DM: Phyllis! Chandrasekhar!
Aleith|DM: Rambylon hurdles a couple bushes as he continues running southward.Phyllis flies forward. [Double Run, landing on ground].Chandrasekhar follows after Phyllis. Gerald… will be fine. Probably.
Aleith|DM: The dire fox angles over to the west, while the gremlin pours out a vial over itself and the fox. They both vanish. [Relay Rest]
Aleith|DM: The great huntsmen barely manage to pull themselves to a stop as they rush past the last place they saw the fox, and start shouting and bemoaning about their prey disappearing on them.
Aleith|DM: Less than half a minute later, you burst from the woods, and, after catching your breath, Rambylon leads you up to a gathering of onlookers on the hills to the south.
Garrett: "This is exactly the kind of workout we all needed after all those dizzying stairs, eh lads?" he jokingly half-gasps out, coming to a leisurely walk up to the gathering.
Chandrasekhar: "Aah- ahahahahaha, oh dear…"Zane` is willing to follow once he sees the huntsmen give up the chase. "Yeah… This made… for… a great… cool-down." He leans against a rock, catching his breath.Gerald` glances around, and then fits a spot to sit down and pull a tripod for his rifle. And after a minute or two to catch his breath, it’s time to find that damn pixie and shoot it out of the sky.
Aleith|DM: As you get up into the hills, you can see that the forest is…a bit oddly-spaced.
[OOC] Aleith|DM: https://imgur.com/a/937slPhyllis makes small hops while floating in the air for a second or two at a time, immersed in thought.
Phyllis: "This still hasn't worn off. Amazing."
Garrett: "Ahh… that's what it looks like, yeah?" he asks, sitting crosslegged just above the grass.
Gerald: "She said it lasts for an hour I think."
[OOC] Garrett: *that is what it looks like, yeah?
Chandrasekhar: "…ahahahahahahaha, oh."
Chandrasekhar: "Okay."
Zane: "So, somebody kindly explain what is going on?"
Aleith|DM: A few dozen fey, well-dressed in combed furs, fine flowers, or diaphanous gowns, sit on giant toadstools or actual toads, enjoying a picnic and occasionally peeking at the battle below through a novelty: brass telescopic goggles. The owner of the goggles resembles a yellow caterpillar the size of a horse, with pudgy arms and tiny hands, and is attended by black-feathered swanmays. The rest of the crowd is a mix of human-sized, elfin-looking fey and smaller pixies.
Aleith|DM: A grumpy ettercap scrambles about on his spindly spider-like legs, serving everyone drinks, slicing their bread and cheese, and constantly itching beneath the ridiculously fluffy angora sweater he's wearing. When called upon for food, he clambers into a nearby tree, disappears into an orb of spider webs about the size of a person, then emerges shortly thereafter with the desired snacks.
Chandrasekhar: "Party-crashing, is what's going on."
Aleith|DM: The caterpillar fey claps with delight as you reach the overlook. "Warriors! What side are you fighting for?"
Gerald: "Whatever side that pixie with the red eye is fighting."
Aleith|DM: Gerald: Perception?
Phyllis: "Neither. We left, so we quit."
Garrett: "Uhhh, let's say the fey."Gerald‘ rolled d20+22 and got 20 ( Total: 42 )
Phyllis: "We were somewhat unceremoniously dumped here."
Aleith|DM: It only takes you about a dozen seconds before you spot it floating above one of the forest ’squares' nearby.
Chandrasekhar: "The gripping hand. Unless Gerald decides otherwise. I'd be loath to stop him, at this point." He shrugs, expansively.
Garrett: "That guy's probably… the referee or judge or something."
Gerald: "Oh there it is."
Garrett: "-I- don't want his job so I'm stayin' outta this vendetta."
Caterpillar: "Oh my. Well, if you're tired, you're welcome to some of my delectable repast, as long as you're willing to talk for a spell. Not literally, of course." He laughs.Gerald‘ pulls the tripod off the rifle before standing back up, taking a momentum to adjust his aim and line up a shot, then lets off a volley on the pixie.
Garrett: "Well… heck, why not."
Rambylon: "I’d avoid the apples. They're hallucinogenic." He thinks for a few seconds, then revises his statement, "actually, maybe I would recommend them."
Garrett: "Anything frosty or frothy to drink?"Zane‘ rubs his face. "Long as I can do it while sitting, I’ll be a most gracious guest."
Aleith|DM: Several of the fey gasp as the shots ring out. The pixie disappears in bloody mess.
Gerald: "Don't start shit you can't finish!" Gerald gestures rudely in the direction it fades it, then rolls a shrug as he exhales and slings his guns back over his shoulder.
Claus: "I'm Clausvald, but you can call me Claus. My, that's not very good sportsmanship with your friend there." He turns to the ettercap. "Mista, bring some refreshments for our guests."
Aleith|DM: The ettercap sighs and clambers up a nearby tree again, disappearing into the orb of spider webs.
Chandrasekhar: "Humans. What can you do?" He shrugs again.
Rambylon: "Technically, no fighting is allowed outside the bounds of the gridded battlefied."
Claus: "Humans, indeed."
Garrett: "I wouldn't have called that a fight, really…"
Gerald: "I told that fucker if it attacked me a second time I was going to return fire."
Garrett: "More like an assassination?"
Claus: "Well, you were wondering about the fighting, am I right?"
Zane: "I was, yeah."
Gerald: "Though noted I suppose."
Claus: "The Unseen Court monarch Thisraldion has been at odds with the Hedgehog Court for years, with disputes focusing on Risur's use of technology."
Chandrasekhar: "It WAS a bit one-sided, and then a bit one-sided the other way." He'll grab a snack. And provide advice on what will or won't make you smell colours and taste sounds.
Claus: "Olazdor, a master archer and the head of the Hedgehog Court (though he, himself, has no head), had a lot of people in the city of Clover talking about rebellion. Clover, if you don't know, is just over the river, a couple miles to the north."
Aleith|DM: Chandrasekhar, you know that Clover's the Dreaming-equivalent of Slate, Risur's capital.
Aleith|DM: You do seem to have mostly teleported in the right direction, at least, if not to the right plane.
Zane: "Why does the Fey Court care about Risur technology? They're not making you use it."Chandrasekhar whistles. "Hey guys, we're /mostly/ in the right place, by the way. Thought so, wasn't sure."
Claus: "It makes the most awful noise over hear."Chandrasekhar also makes a SPINNY gesture with his hand and a yuck face at Zane.
Claus: "The Great Blight up north is basically uninhabitable now."
Phyllis: "As in the Malice Lands?"
Phyllis: "I would imagine so."
Claus: "No. Hmmm. I think it's called Flint on your side?"
Chandrasekhar: "There's a reason what industry there is is kept carefully circumscribed to- yes."
Phyllis: "There's at least some relation."
Zane: "Aha, I see."
Garrett: "Good thing we're not that far, then."
Gerald: "…Cross plane pollution?"
Chandrasekhar: "Kinda sorta."
Claus: "Anyway, Thisraldion's consort, the human musician Rock Rackus, returned in early Autumn, over four months ago. Seemingly unbeknownst to the monarch, Rock was conspiring with the Hedgehog Court."
Phyllis: "Remember that both the Dreaming and the Bleak Gate mirror our own material plane."
Claus: "Three weeks ago, during the Snow Moon, Thisraldion found out and murdered Rock when he was on his way to a meeting with Olazdor. Rock’s head was sliced cleanly off, but the Unseen Court tried to blame the Hedgehogs by sticking an arrow in Rock’s heart."
Gerald: "…"
Garrett: "Well… heck."
Claus: "For a week now loyalists of each side have come out to the fields to battle, but it's still civil. I think things will go out of control and the fighting will move into the city itself, and all across the countryside. That's why I've moved out here, next to the battlefield, where it's safe."
Ernst: "I… see."
Gerald: "How is someone as mind numbling incompotent as Rock *always* winding up in the middle of shit?"
Zane: "He's hung like a stallion."
Chandrasekhar: "Yeah, Zane's got it."
Aleith|DM: The ettercap, Mista Nyves, impertinately clicks his pedipals. "Thisraldion's the rightful ruler, and that Rock was actually spying for the Unseen Court. Olazdor found out, killed Rock, and tried to blame Thisraldion. I heard this from my good friend Copperhat."
Garrett: "Some guys have all the luck."
Aleith|DM: Copperhat's name sets off a round of scoffing among the rest of the picnickers, and they complain about various interactions with Copperhat, like when he somehow got hold of a wagon full of children's books from the Waking and tried to sell them. His rationale was that every orphanage in the Waking has these books, so if someone in the Dreaming had them, it would attract children, which have all manner of uses.
Gerald: "Wait wait Rock's dead?"
Garrett: "Well…"
Aleith|DM: A good idea, points out one of the swanmays, except the books were all philosophy texts, and the only people who showed up were dwarves, who seemed intent on ruining their parties.
Garrett: "Did someone at least try to put him back together?"Phyllis facepalms.
Aleith|DM: Down below on the battlefield, a stormcloud has gathered, and bolts of lightning flicker out to strike shambling mounds. The picnickers pay attention to the ensuing fight for a few minutes.
Garrett: "Needle and thread, sew and sow alike?"
Claus: "I think he's been buried now? I remember that was going to be done soon. Anyway, that's what the fighting's been about."
Garrett: "Oh."
Claus: "It starts an hour before noon, and continues for 4 hours each day. There's still about a couple hours left.
Zane: "If he didnt have a head, how'd you know it was Rock?"Chandrasekhar actually snickers.
Claus: "Well, it was nearby, apparently. I went and saw the body during the viewing."Garrett‘ holds his hands about a meter apart at Zane. "We just went over this!"Zane` tips his hat to Garrett. "Point to you, sir."
Phyllis: "Garrett. Can you read the objects and/or speak with the dead to figure out precisely what happened and who’s to blame?"
Aleith|DM: From the crowd around you, you hear various rumours around you as well.
[OOC] Aleith|DM: http://storagebin.wikidot.com/zg-newsChandrasekhar half-turns away and tries depserately to compose himself. He SHOULD be taking this seriously but it's been A Time.
Garrett: "Assumin' he's still around, yeah."
Phyllis: "In the meantime."
Aleith|DM: One of the pixies suddenly shouts, "By the Titans! These are the ones from Rock Rackus's song! The Royal Homeland Congratulatory!"
Chandrasekhar: "Oh! We're famous."
Aleith|DM: This provokes a round of toasts to your good health, since due to a song Rock performed around Clover a few times, everyone here is a great fan of your fight against the aliens from beyond the moon.
Gerald: "Wait he wrote a song about us?" Gerald headtilts in Garrett's direction
Garrett: "I guess so. First I've heard of it, though maybe not the last."
Chandrasekhar: "Well. Loosely inspired by us."
Phyllis: "We have plans to report to the powers that - yes that's us, very good, THANK You - to the powers that be. If I could have about half an hour, I can send something, but we should confer on what message to relay and to whom."
Garrett: "Probably get the important bits out of the way first."
Zane: "Oh yeah, the Giddim. Sijhen. I remember that thing. We got to kick his ass *and* get Saxby fired. That was a good night."
Garrett: "Traitors, plots, proposal to stop them. We can leave the Rock section for part two…?"
Claus: "Oh, are you planning to go home then…?"
Claus: "But you just got here!"
Gerald: "Places to go, people deathly in need of being killed."
Garrett: "Wherever we go, there we are."
Rambylon: "That…might be a problem. You know how it's normally just difficult to get between the Dreaming and the Waking?"
Garrett: "Though I don't think we have the capability to just pop on out of this plane on a word, so… we'll be here a bit longer."
Zane: "The burden of the Royal Congratulatory. We're never in any place for too long."
Rambylon: "…well, for the past few days it's been completely impossible."
Garrett: "Oh boy."Phyllis grits her teeth. "*Acutely*. Aware. Yes."
Phyllis: " - then just HOW DID WE CROSS all of five minutes ago?!"
Aleith|DM: Several of the fey shrug.
Garrett: "I'm gonna blame the magic."
Phyllis: "Garrett. My point is that I can at least contact others. In the immediate sense."
Chandrasekhar: "Luckily, you know what there is in the Dreaming?"
Chandrasekhar: "More magic."
Chandrasekhar: "Although yes there are certain facts of which certain people ought to be alerted."
Claus: "Say, if you're going to be here a while… I'm a great businessman, and while I would normally have no need for weapons, these are dangerous times. You might think I’m a fool to try to fight, but I have gold, and a fool and his gold are soon parted! Now sell me your weapons, foreigners. I'm offering good prices on them."Garrett‘ shrugs. "I was serious about the first part. Delft should know, and probably the king, and like… gods, just anyone who doesn’t have a line to the mayor."
Zane: "Calm down, Ursinho. Salient points. Stansfield is long-time Ob agent. Borne out of the Dreaming. Separated from Kasvarina. Nidocemus temporarily killed, but it wont last."
Garrett: "And who we can trust."
Garrett: "Incoming kingly slaying in a few days. What's the word I'm thinking of… regicide?"
Gerald: "That's it yeah." Gerald gives Claus a look.
Chandrasekhar: "'regicide' is one wo- yeah."
Garrett: "Yeah, sendings' gotta use all the parts of the fey-buffalo."
Claus: "Like your rifle, young man. Impressive thing. Not too many whirlybits. I could give you 270,000 gold for that."
Phyllis: "Addressed to who?"
Zane: "Delft."Garrett‘ turns to Claus. "I’m interested, but I mean… walking around with empty hands but full pockets is a great way to end up with empty pockets."
Garrett: "Delft, basically, yeah."
Zane: "He's the only person I trust at this point."
Aleith|DM: There's still a couple hours until the fighting's over and it's safer to head to Clover. You've got time to figure out your Sending, Phyllis.
Phyllis: "Fair enough."
Gerald: "Can't hand over the rifle or the shotgun, but I could pretty easily part with this pistol." Gerald reaches into his coat, then pulls out the one gun he never uses and holds it out towards Claus.
Phyllis: "You're not interested in books, are you? … and where was that Copperhat fellow?"
Aleith|DM: Mista walks up, carrying some more refreshments for all of you. "Are you paying with the real gold or the fake stuff?"
Phyllis: " - and would you happen to have residuum for sale?"
Claus: "What?! Mista Nyves! You're fired! Hand over your sweater immediately!"
Phyllis: "Oh."
Aleith|DM: The ettercap sighs and tears off the sweater none too gently.
Rambylon: "And this is a clear example of why you could probably use a guide around here. Fey are tricky with their words, and you might fall victim if you aren't clever."
Zane: "Nyves you're hired. Never wear that sweater again."
Rambylon: "I'll show you around Clover and get you in touch with the Hedgehog Court, who will glady help you, unlike the deceptive Unseen Court. In exchange, all I want is a lady's kiss."
Chandrasekhar: "You know…"Phyllis gives Rambylon a dour stare.Chandrasekhar smiles, graciously. "I think we'll be okay. But thank you."
Mista: "I'm not weird, and will work for the normal pretties: coins, gems, and shiny knives. I can be just as good a guide as him, and it'll only cost 5 gold a day."
Garrett: "Tongue or no tongue- well, you heard 'em."
Mista: "No kisses neccessary," he adds with a fidget of his venomous pedipalps.Zane‘ pulls a dagger. "I vote for Mista. Any man that works for blades is my kind of people."Andrei starts coming too. "Oh, my head." He looks around. "Where am I…?"
Chandrasekhar: To the caterpillar "Now /you/ I’d consider hiring. And you- if you're going to be an agent of a Court, learn to be less obvious about it." He glances witheringly at Rambylon.
[OOC] Aleith|DM: Mista's the ettercap
Phyllis: "The Dreaming. A short ways to the Waking's equivalent of Shale."
Gerald: "Feyland."
[OOC] Chandrasekhar: ettercap, caterpillar, whatever
[OOC] Aleith|DM: Ettercaps are like humanoid spiders, so, I guess, kinda close….?Zane‘ smiles. "Andrei. It’s good to see you waking up."
Phyllis: "If I may take my leave to Send our message."
Garrett‘: "I don’t know, Mista, says he's not weird. I like my Dreamings with a little weird in 'em, makes it feel authentic." His wide eyes and overblown crossarmed 'hmmph' make it clear he's putting on an act.
Andrei: "Oh, I remember you folks from the train. What are you doing here?"
Gerald: "What's the last thing you remember?"
Andrei: "Being locked up whenever I wasn't being possessed by some…ghost? Or when I wasn't being studied by researchers in some place."
Gerald: "Studied…?"
Zane: "Yeah, Nicodemus is a first-class asshole. You'll be glad to know I punched him so hard he was forcibly exercised from you."
Andrei: "Oh, is that his name? Good to hear. So…" He looks around him at the various fey, and grabs a sandwich off the table. "The Dreaming, huh?"
Garrett‘: "Hope you have packed bags, Andy, because you’re goin' on a trip."
Garrett‘: "(Don’t eat the red rope licorice.)"
Zane: "Yeah, the Dreaming."Andrei looks himself over. "Well, I've got…hmmm…a bunch of scrolls, some spell components…" He holds up his hand. "And a stone ring?"
Phyllis: To our boss, Delft: "We found Kasvarina but were separated in Methia, along with Borne. We are currently in the Dreaming, 'permanently,' near Shale. Governor Stansfield is Obscurati agent. Obscurati plans to kill the king are only a few days away. Prepare and send any help possible."
Zane: "… Holy shit. Hand me that ring, please?"
Garrett: "Hey, that's a good find."Andrei takes it off and hands it to you. "Sure."Zane‘ immediately flips it over and looks at the inside.
Chandrasekhar: "…ahahaha. Nice."
Phyllis: True Sending. -4000 gp worth of residuum, 30 minutes. Reaches anyone, regardless of distance or plane.
Delft: "Message received. I’ll get word to the king and keep watch on the Governor. I'm not sure who to trust, so tell no one."
Aleith|DM: …you're not actually sure that was him who responded.
Aleith|DM: Just a feeling.
Phyllis: "…"
Gerald: "What's with the thousand yard stare?"Phyllis hurls her book across the room. "I don't think Delft is who we think he is."
Phyllis: "Or - I don't know. The response didn't feel like it was him."Garrett‘ immediately looks over.
Phyllis: "And my paranoia is runnign with that."
Gerald: "Well,"
Gerald: "If *I* was Nicodemus,"
Chandrasekhar: "…if Delft is compromised, we, uh."
Garrett: "…could any of it have to do with how extraplanar travel is nigh impossible right now?"
Gerald: "Delft would definitely be my top pick a the moment, yeah."
Garrett: "I’d feel more at ease if the message was simply intercepted by like… some fey lord, rather than… that."Zane‘ rubs his temples. "I thought we’d have more time before he came back. Kasvarina said it took a day or two…"
Gerald: "Uhh who do we know that we can trust and also would basically be untouchable without making way too much of a scene…"
Gerald: "Shit what's his name Zane?
Phyllis: "The dragon?"
Zane: "Are you thinking Harker Lee?"
Gerald: "Harker, yeah."
Gerald: "Send to him."
[OOC] Phyllis: EFSDFS I DIDN'T SAY THAT retcon
[OOC] Aleith|DM: lol okay
[OOC] Chandrasekhar: lmao
[OOC] Chandrasekhar: actual literal lol
Garrett: "Harkover Lee, uh…"
Garrett: "Man, this list is really short."
[OOC] Zane: myself also, lol
Zane: "I don't trust Harkover Lee."
Gerald: "Wrong. You don't *like* him but you trust his intentions in this matter."
Chandrasekhar: "I mean, it's him or the king himself at this point, and… what Gerald said, I hate to say it."
Zane: "Wrong. I like him just fine. But his surname was 'The Hex Eater' and I cant be sure he's actually still under oath, rather than playing the long game."
Gerald: "…Though yeah no reason not to send directly to the King."
Garrett: "I think he'd find it incredibly relevant, yeah."
Phyllis: "We only have one more True Sending unless we can come across a sizable amount of residuum."
Phyllis: "Are you -sure- this time."
Gerald: "Well I mean,"
Garrett: "Well… think of it this way."
Gerald: "If *this* one doesn't work right the entire point of sending it is fucked anyway…"
Garrett: "Either the king trusts us and puts his guard up,"
Garrett: "Or it gets 'weird' again and we know we're being fucked with, somehow."
Zane: "The king is a good choice, yeah."
Garrett: "Or the king doesn't listen to us, in which case, a fool and his head…"
Garrett: "If we've got one more shot, it's the best one."
Garrett: "Maybe add in a line in there about Delft, if the feeling is that strong…?"Phyllis repeats the same message to the current reigning king of Risur, Aodhan, except instead of 'prepare and send any help possible,' "Sending to Delft went weird. Maybe compromised. Prepare accordingly."
Aodhan: "Your concerns are duly noted. I'll start making preparations to move to Shale for safety, and get someone to look into Delft. Tell no one where I'm headed."
Garrett: "Poor guy, though. Won't be able to sleep a wink." He stands up from the grass.
Aleith|DM: …that didn't feel quite right, either.Phyllis snaps her book shut at the completion of the ritual, tosses it behind her, and throws her hands up. "We are absolutely fucked."
Gerald: "…Is it possible for those things to get intercepted?"
Garrett: "Hah, whadd'ya know. That was a shot in the dark."
Phyllis: Arcana to answer Gerald?
Aleith|DM: Sure, roll it.Phyllis rolled d20+30 and got 9 ( Total: 39.0 )
Chandrasekhar: "That or I'm going to have to choke somebody."
Garrett: "Unfortunately that's where my intuition ends."
Zane: "Allow me. I have the right tool for the job."
Aleith|DM: Theoretically, it might be possible, though you haven't looked into it directly yourself.
Phyllis: "Maybe. I don't know."
Phyllis: "It's a likely possibility. But I'd need to do some study to really figure it out."
Gerald: "I guess that's better than a hard no and assuming they're all dead already."
Phyllis: "And sadly, my library is in the Waking."
Aleith|DM: The fighting comes to an abrupt end early in the afternoon.
Aleith|DM: …the sun ceases to move across the sky.
Phyllis: "Did you guys hire one of those two as a guide, yet?"
Aleith|DM: Everyone packs up, and most of the survivors head for the nearby city of Clover.
Garrett: "I guess we could… suss out who would be in the area of that kind of ability and put the squeeze on them, while we also figure out a way back."
Zane: "My vote was for the spider guy, I dunno if the others had a pick."
Garrett: "Yeah, I think we're going with Mista," he says, casually turning to the rest of the party. "Right?"
Phyllis: "Ssssure."
Chandrasekhar: "We're sure not going with that other jhaant."Phyllis goes to retrieve her book, muttering to herself all the while.
Zane: "Hey, I can pay this guy. No problem."Rambylon sighs. "Enjoy your stay, folks." He whistles jauntily as he heads to join the crowd on the road to the city.Misha looks over the dagger. "Oh, very nice. Sure. Into the city, right? Anywhere in particular?"
Zane: "Any safe places to sleep? We've had a hell of a day."
Misha: "I know a few places."
Aleith|DM: Clover is built in the Dreaming on lands analogous to the real world city Slate, capital of Risur. The Great Delve River, its steep banks adorned by flowers and dotted with windows of hillside burrows, separates the fey city into the noble east bank and the common west bank.
Aleith|DM: In Slate six antique castles sit inside a wide bend on the river's east bank, and in Clover there are nearly identical buildings (on the west bank). Clover's castles are home to lords of various regions of the continent, each heavily guarded by lithe warriors in nimble plate armor, who hide beneath mats of grass and moss but are ready to spring to battle and ambush intruders. The lords fear the rabble of the east bank, led by the Hedgehog Court.
Aleith|DM: Across the shore is a chaotic mess of narrow winding streets and houses of all sorts—straw, wood, brick, some metal, and even one composed of stacked sheep—inhabited by the common fey. The fey (or occasionally their houses) bustle through the town trading oddities, treats, or songs for whatever other fey can offer.
Aleith|DM: A broad grassy hill rises above the rest of the city, site of Thistle Palace, from which the Unseen Court rules. Like the castles of the west, this palace is practically identical to Torfeld Palace in the real world.Gerald‘ tosses that pistol mentioned earlier to Andrei as they head off, seeing as how he doesn’t have a weapon on him.Andrei thanks you for it.
Phyllis: "Andrei. What sort of scrolls and components do you have?"
Gerald: "…Chandra."
Gerald: "Chandra."
Aleith|DM: Fey soldiers clog the road from the chessboard battlefield to Clover, and few of them display much fey mirth. A large 'traffic jam' has backed up near a river, as the soldiers who are returning to Clover barter for beeswax so they can plug their ears. Everyone complains about the noise (but only Chandrasekhar can hear the persistent high-pitched trembling whine).
Gerald: "That house is made of sheep."
Gerald: "What the fuck?"
Aleith|DM: Several fey also glare at Ernst.
Zane: "Think about how warm it must be."
Gerald: "It's so structorally unsound!"
Garrett: "Sounds like sheep to me."Chandrasekhar looks like he has a headache. "Stupid noise…"
Chandrasekhar: "…oh yeah, it's a house made of sheep. That happens."
Gerald: "Why?"
Chandrasekhar: "Sometimes you just… have too much sheep and nobody wants to trade for it."
Gerald: "I don't…"
Chandrasekhar: "It's okay."
Chandrasekhar: "It doesn't have to make sense, it's an abstraction."
Aleith|DM: You can go around the mass of people on the road if you want. There's no bridge across the river, but it's low enough at this spot to easily ford.Chandrasekhar ambles onward.
Mista: "Can't build bridges, of course. It'd attract trolls."
Zane: "Everybody gotta live somewhere."Phyllis raises an eyebrow at her familiar, who's also probably trying to cover her ears from the noise.
Aleith|DM: It's definitely driving her up the walls a bit, too.
Phyllis: "So the noise is - Ernst, can you see what the case is?"
Zane: "Technology."
Chandrasekhar: "Mmm. Yeah."
Zane: "It's why they are looking at him like they want to eat his liver."
Phyllis: "Maybe … dismantle something to alleviate the issues on this side?"
Aleith|DM: Best you can figure, it's probably a flour mill powered by a water wheel around here.
Gerald: "What noise?"
Garrett: "It's not all the armored guys crowdin' up the roads?"
Aleith|DM: One of the nearby fey complains that the gremlins haven't been able to muck with it for the past few days.
Phyllis: "I don't hear it, myself, but given how people here are reacting to it…"
Phyllis: "My familiar, too."
Zane: "Likewise."
Chandrasekhar: "Yeah, there's totally a noise."
Chandrasekhar: "It's a fey thing."
Phyllis: "Is it present while in the Waking? I wonder how you'd function if that were the case."
Aleith|DM: After a couple of miles, you reach the city, entering on the east bank of the river.
Chandrasekhar: "Naw. I mean… I don't -like- factories but it's not…" He makes a face.
Mista: "So, where to, boss?"
Garrett: "A bed in a building that won't walk off on us. Or with us. The bed and slash or the building."
Mista: "Can do." He salutes you with his tarsus, and leads you deeper into the city.
Phyllis: "Someplace to sleep, get some … Waking-suitable food, and I will do my best to deafen anyone suffering from the metal sound in exchange for some residuum."
Aleith|DM: As you walk through it, many fey recognize you, some of them following you, many asking questions, and occasionally a few try to pick your pockets.
Aleith|DM: Somehow, you run into a lot of not-so-friendly fey along the way as well, with a few fights narrowly avoided by Chandrasekhar's calming words.Zane‘ runs a hand through his hair. And slips gears into fingers of anybody stupid enough to try and steal from him.Chandrasekhar is the real guide here, secretly, just bein’ super low-key about it. And also Zane is terrifying. That *always* helps, being able to back up your pacifism with a Credible Alternative.Garrett‘ goes for the fabled Counter Steal.
Aleith|DM: After about fourty minutes later, and numerous small enouncters later, Mista leads you to an inn called the Malefic Sunset. He can get you a discount there.Zane` drops into a chair and looks disgusted. "Alright, I am completely out of my element here and I do not like it."
Phyllis: "Please tell me you at least accept gold."
Phyllis: "How does fey commerce even work."
Gerald: "It’s not *too* much different from the docks after midnight, to be honest."
Aleith|DM: However, as you're asking about rooms, a couple of women in finely-articulated mithral plate armour step into the lobby, and between them flies another one-eyed pixie. "Lady and gentlemen of the Royal Homeland Constabulatory, you are cordially invited to see the Unseen Court." She drops a scroll into one of your hands.
Aleith|DM: The scroll reads that Thisraldion, monarch of the Unseen Court, offers aid in returning to the Waking in exchange for aid in solving the murder of Rock Rackus.
Gerald: "Even when you're dead Rock, still makin' trouble… though I guess this is a boon of sorts."
Chandrasekhar: "Ah. Good."
Zane: "Well… That at least partly answers my next question of 'how do we get home'."
Garrett: "We -could- use a leg up on how to get out of here, yeah."
Garrett: "And as a farewell tribute to our favorite, uh, prisoner."
Chandrasekhar: "I knew that was going to be the answer, I was just curious how long it'd take."
Phyllis: "How seen do we need to answer this summons?"
Phyllis: "Can we … can we sleep?"
Pixie: "It's only sunset." Sure enough, the sun is setting. "They'd prefer to see you as soon as possible, but if you absolutely need to rest up first…" She eyes your somewhat-shabby condition. There might be a few leaves still stuck to some of you. "Then first thing in the morning, if you must."
Garrett: "It's appreciated."
Chandrasekhar: "I would rather not insult the Court by appearing before them at anything other than our best. That way we can go to work immediately."
Pixie: "Very well. I will inform the monarch." She and the guards depart.
Phyllis: "It's been a day."
Garrett: "Let's hope it isn't also a night."Gerald‘ abrupts pauses, turning back to the ground.
Gerald: "How is Rock supposed to fly a skyboat off into the distance as the ground rips itself apart in the future if he’s dead, anyway?"
Chandrasekhar: "He's obviously still alive somehow."
Garrett: "Gerald, please, don't read ahead of the story."
Gerald: "I'm just sayin'."
Phyllis: "That, or the dead can be risen."
Aleith|DM: The giant spider manning the counter clicks its chelicera annoyedly. "How many rooms do you want?"
Gerald: "Three."
Aleith|DM: A nymph walks into the lobby. "That won't be neccessary. The constables, right?"
Gerald: "…Yes?"Phyllis stares at the wall. What. Now.
Garrett: "Congratulatories."
Nymph: "My mistress, Sallin, has prepared a house for you on the grounds of the palace for you to stay at for the duration of your investigate." She wrinkles her nose prettily. "You needn't stay in this shabby place."
Garrett: "Well, that settles it."Gerald‘ tilts his head towards Chandra. "…Someone we know?"Garrett` stands up, starts heading over to the Nymph.
Aleith|DM: One of the Unseen Court.Zane` grabs Garretts shoulder and plants him in a chair along the way. "Sit, boy."
Garrett: "Zane, please, ask yourself- What Would Rock Rackus Do?"
Zane: "Dip his wick in it, and then get beheaded. That last part is real important."
Garrett: "He gets -better-."
Garrett: "Ask Gerald."
Zane: "I’m not putting money on it."Gerald‘ starts laughing.
Chandrasekhar: "Please forgive my companions. They haven’t adjusted properly yet to the Dreaming. Yes, that would be lovely."Zane‘ lets go of Garretts shoulder.
Aleith|DM: The nymph leads you over to the palace. Mista tries to lead you through a ’shortcut' a couple of times but she insists on ignoring his directions.
Aleith|DM: Once you arrive at the house on the grounds, she shows you inside. It's got four different bedrooms, and servants to see to your needs.
Aleith|DM: The sun finishes setting as you arrive at the house, and the night passes uneventfully. (The guards keep away inquisitive fey.)